Satellites are Catching Pirate Fishing Boats From Space

The ocean is vast. We cannot patrol all of it. But now environmental groups are getting into the satellite game, watching for illegal fishing boats from the skies. It's just one more example of how high-quality, real-time satellite imagery can change our relationship to the world around us.

NPR has a story about Pew Charitable Trust's Eyes on the Seas, a programme dedicated to combating illegal fishing. Fishing quotas are meant to protect vulnerable fish populations, but it's hard—if not impossible—to watch over large tracts of the ocean. To that end, they're using high-tech tools to watch from the skies.

Pew has built a "virtual watch room" using photo and radar data from satellites to patrol ships from afar. One tell-tale sign when two ships sit side-by-side and transfer fish, often evidence of laundering of illegal fish. Pew tells NPR they have already caught two illegal fishing boats using the satellite system.

Satellite patrolling is a still a relatively new idea for environmental groups, but it has huge potential. With near real-time images, we could watch for rainforest being logged or toxic waste being dumped. And it's not just environmental groups. Stores want to track the number of cars in their parking lots. Hedge fund mangers want to use satellite imagery to predict the market.

With satellites get ever cheaper and their cameras ever more powerful, get ready to see a lot more of the world from space. [NPR]